About two weeks ago Barbie and I took a drive to Noordhoek to visit Harry Goemans Garden Centre. I’d read about the nursery somewhere and it was on my list of nurseries to visit and then Harry himself offered me some advice by commenting on this blog so we decided it was time to make the effort and travel the few extra kilometres to see what we could find.
About a forty-five minute, very scenic drive from my home to Noordhoek, we found Harry Goemans Garden Centre quite easily, situated on the Kommetjie Road in Sunnydale. The view from the road of the nursery is unimpressive but first impressions were soon put aside once we entered the garden centre. We found a stunning nursery with lovely, well cared for plants and an interesting range of paving slabs and related concrete items (such as edgings, cobbles, sleeper steps), many of which I believe they manufacture themselves which would account for the prices being very reasonable.
We did a quick run through the nursery to see what was on offer and then a shower of rain motivated us to seek refuge in the most charming little coffee shop they have on site, called Easy Dig Café. It was warm and cosy with a roaring fire creating a friendly, welcoming atmosphere. After a few cups of coffee and wonderful croissants, we were recharged and ready to “shop”. (Seriously, the coffee shop alone is worth a stop if you are in the area). We wandered around the nursery picking up plants and immediately had someone carrying and sorting our plants for us (the service was unobtrusive, helpful and great! 10 out 10 for that) and I was delighted to see a lot of plants I’ve been looking for available for sale here.
They have a wide variety of hardy, indigenous plants on offer as well as lots of exotics. I saw a lovely selection of Hellebores (very nice size plants which are obviously more mature than the ones I bought – they are only the second general nursery I’ve found them at, but the first with such large, healthy looking specimens), lovely large sized Clivias, of course the usual Camellias and Azaleas I’m seeing at all the nurseries at the moment. I was impressed by the condition of their plants. For the past few weeks I’ve had difficulty buying anything at my weekly visit to the two usual nurseries I frequent – simply because I’m seeing the “same ol’ same ol'” plants there every week, and everything is looking a bit tired and “wintry-fied”. Not so at Harry’s – I managed to part with a good amount of cash simply because they had a number different plants there that I had on my list of “thing to buy” and the plants all looked great!
As can be expected they offer pots and planters of all shapes and sizes, hardware and garden tools, gifts and décor accessories, a dedicated irrigation supplies department, and all the garden necessities like fertilisers, composts and mulches you expect to find at a one stop garden centre.
Was there anything I didn’t like? Not really – I couldn’t fault them but I was a bit disappointed in the selection of grasses. I would have liked a larger selection and didn’t find any of the grasses I’m looking for. But I suspect this is the wrong time of year to expect a great selection of ornamental grasses at any nursery in the Western Cape.
[one_half]Easy Dig Café[/one_half]
[one_half_last]Shade plants[/one_half_last]
[one_half]Exotic shrubs[/one_half]
[one_half_last]Interesting nik-naks[/one_half_last]
For the record:
We did not announce ourselves, they were unaware of who we were and this is an unsolicited review of a nursery I will travel the extra kilometres to visit again!
Where to find them:
Harry Goemans Garden Centre, Kommetjie Road, Sunnydale, Noordhoek.
Telephone: +27 (0)21 785-3201
Flickr Photo Gallery
(Photographs © Barbara Mueller-Thiart)
Happy Gardening
xxx
5 replies on “Harry Goemans Garden Centre – a review”
the garden centre looks very tempting. I usually start with coffee and go on from there. Garden centres here are mixed. Many of them seem to sell more rubbish than plants. Reviews are a good way of recommending (or otherwise).
I always wondered if other bloggers announce themselves when they visit public gardens, garden centers, and other locations. Most of the time I’m blogging about my own garden, but wondering what to do when I want to highlight or recommend a gardening venue. This one sounds/looks like a winner!
This sounds like such a fun trip. The nursery seems like it has a lot of choices. A gardening friend and I also enjoy this type of day.
Dear Christine and Barbara
Thank you so much for your honest feedback about the garden centre. You did not let the rain stop you and it’s great that you found a couple of things you had been looking for.
Although I share his name, I am not ‘the’ Harry Goemans. Harry Goemans was my grandfather who came from a bulb-growing family in Holland in the 1960s and traded for many years on Bergvliet Main Road. He sadly passed away in 2002 but the family business is now owned by his daughter and son-in-law, my parents – Pat and Henry, and it is managed by my brother Jeremy. I am studying a B.Com at UCT but I help out on a few afternoons during the week and on a Sunday. I hope to get some overseas experience after I have finished studying and bring new ideas to the garden centre.
I enjoy reading your blog because it is informative and fun and it deals with ‘real’ South African gardening.
I hope your new lawn thrives and that Barbie’s veggie planters are soon overflowing with many good things!
Thanks again
Harry
Hi Christine! Looks like a great day trip. LOVE the cafe too and it’s always good to fuel up before plant shopping. Can’t wait to see what you purchased from this well-rounded nursery! Look forward to seeing more…